Arlington Park – Top Jockeys of the Closing Season

Chicago has always been special; and what makes it more special is the Arlington International Racecourse – Arlington Heights, Illinois. Since 1830 horse racing has been popular in Chicago and was known to have more (6) racing tracks than any other metropolitan at that time. Arlington Racetracks was the first to host thoroughbred racing event worth 1 million USD purse back in 1981.

Arlington Park was established by Harry D. and the first jockey to lead Luxembourg to victory was Joe Bollero, who later became a successful trainer. This track has always been rich in history and has witnessed many fall and rise to win titles while their names are engraved in the history of horse racing – Jockeys, Race horses and Trainers.

This article will deal with the top Jockeys of Arlington Park in the year 2013. To narrow down the list, top 3 jockeys have been mentioned below: 

1.       Emmanuel Esquivel

2.       James Graham

3.       Florent Geroux

Emmanuel Esquivel: As Arlington Park ended its 89 day meet on Sunday, September 29, 2013 – Apprentice Jockey Emmanuel Esquivel was awarded the leading jockey believed to be the first “bug-boy” to claim the Arlington riding title since Wendell Eads back in the year 1940. Emmanuel was tough competition to 2011 top jockey James Graham during the meet and took away the title with a lead of 83-79 count. The purse money was established at a higher record of 2,310,086 USD. 

His 2013 Stats: 

Starts	551
1st	83
2nd	80
3rd	70

James Graham: Father of three, this man was born a jockey! Originating from Ireland, he was never a great student until he took a teacher’s advice and joined School for Jockeys. Once he was done with the course there was no looking back. James Graham climbed the ladder of success as quickly as he could, staying consistent till date, friends and peers know him a “determined yet humble competitor” –followhorseracing.com

2002 he moved to Lexington, Kentucky where he gained the reputation of a hard worker as an exercise rider while he was working at Keenland Race Course. His first win came in 2003 July 1 at River Downs, Ohio and there has been no stopping him from then on!

His 2013 stats: 

Starts	479
1st	79
2nd	87
3rd	64

Florent Geroux: A native of Argentan in France’s Normandy region, Geroux (Frenchy) has been a regular rider at the Chicago tracks for almost seven seasons! The son of famous retired jockey Dominique Geroux spent a successful summer at Arlington Park with two graded stakes victories – Arlington- Washington Futurity and Puker Up. This started off with his first win of the summer – Grade III Hanshin Cup.

His 2013 Stats: 

Starts	396
1st	58
2nd	67
3rd	49

Arlington Park – The home of such great equine beasts led by greater jockeys’ remains closed till the anticipated opening on May 2, 2014. Until then!

Lost in Fog - Remembering the Champion Sprinter

September 17, 2006 was the worst Sunday that I can possibly remember; not only for me but for many horse racing fans! Lost in the Fog an American thoroughbred race horse foaled on February 4, 2002 was euthanized, leaving behind sadness in the hearts of his fans due to Cancer.

This champion sprinter was on a winning streak through his first 10 starts of his racing career that includes the Breeders’ Cup. Races across the country and a winning of 11 of his 14 starts gave him an outstanding earning of 978,099 USD, unfortunately, his four year old career ended due to lymphoma cutting his career short, some might say!

Out of Sire Lost Soldier and Dam Cloud Break; this colt was bred by Susan Seper in Florida. His Bloodline was of superior pedigree coming from Sire Lost Soldier winner of 10 stakes and Grand Sire Danzig son of the famous Northern Dancer. Unraced Dam Cloud Break has been at her best at being a perfect broodmare.

The year before he passed, he had won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Sprint Horse.

I remember the day of his first defeat after straight wins at the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on October 29, 2005 when he had finished 7th to my surprise!  His comeback in 2006 had started off with second finish at Oakland Tribune Golden Gates Fields Sprints, but I was overwhelmed at his stake record win on June 3, over a distance of six furlongs at Aristides Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Churchill Downs.

It was at the Smile Sprint Handicap at Calder when the favorite came in ninth on a perfect July day that observers suggested that there was something severely wrong with the race horse.

As the news of his ailment was spreading rapidly through his fan groups, it was became harder to avoid the situation!  Horse racing fans had put up articles, blogs and shared their grief through fan groups; during that time I remember reading a post about Greg Gilchrist, (his trainer throughout his racing career)  –

"It turns out he's been running with this thing inside him this year…It shows you what kind of warrior this horse is."; Wikipedia.

June 10, 2007; horse racing lovers commemorated the loss of their favorite at the first run of the” Lost in the Fog Stakes” at Golden gate Fields in Albany California. The race offered a purse of 75,000 USD open to two-year-old, the first year was won by Imaginary Sailor.

Recent Winners
• 2013 – Skydreamin
• 2012 – Anytime Magic
• 2011 – City Route
• 2010 – Road Ready

While I was doing my search to trace the Lost in the Fog Stakes, I came across the Lost in the Fog Juvenile Stakes and was surprised not to find relevant information to link the two races. The Lost in the Fog Stakes takes place at Golden Gate Fields in August whereas the Lost in the Fog Juvenile Stakes happens at Turf Paradise in December.

December 28, 2013 – Lost in the Fog Juvenile Stakes will be held at Turf paradise and run over a distance of 6 ½ furlongs also for two year old horses; it has had quite a few new horses come up in the racing industry.  Let’s look at some of the past winners

Recent Winners
• 2012 – Glancho Kid
• 2011 – Taylors Deal

As a die-heart fan of Lost in the Fog, I was content to find two races honoring the legend! (I am assuming that Lost in the Fog Juvenile Stakes descends from the legendary horse himself).

Waiting for the Lost in the Fog Juvenile Stakes, December 28, 2013.

CashCall Futurity - The End of a Great Autumn Racing Season!

One of the most lucrative event on the stake race calendar is the final meet at Betfair Hollywood Park – CashCall Futurity (gr. 1); scheduled on 14 Dec, the Stake race offers 750,000 USD and is considered as the annual stop for future Triple Crown contenders. Previously known as the Hollywood Futurity the name was later changed to CashCall Futurity pertaining to its sponsor. This American Thoroughbred horse race was inaugurated in the year 1981 at Hollywood Park racetrack – one of the most celebrated racetracks in the history of horse racing.

I am all done and set with my research work, before I witness the actual race on 14 December! Giving in to my curiosity, I came across few interesting things about CashCall Futurity that made me blog.

This race is open to two year old horses to run over a distance of 1 1/6 miles (that’s a well known). I was surprised to notice that till 2006 the race was run over dirt until the Hollywood Racetrack changed it to synthetic racing surface for better performance and speed also known as Cushion Tracks. It was here that the first synthetic track was installed in California pertaining to the guideline set by the California Horse Racing Board.

Enough with the boring stuff!

Moving on to the interesting part – Past winners and legends to have run this race are:

• Violence – Javier Castellano – Todd Pletcher – 2012
• Liaison – Rafael Bejarano – Bob Baffert – 2011
• Comma to the Top – Corey Nakatani –  Peter Miller – 2010
• Lookin at Lucky – Garrett Gomez – Bob Baffert – 2009
• Pioneer of the Nile – Garrett Gomez – Bob Baffert – 2008

Last year I had missed all the action but ESPN was my savior! The race replay was not enough to satisfy the thrill of the actual event, but I had done well! My favored Violence who was unbeaten since his last three starts chased Fury Kapcori like a mad-man to win the 750,000 USD stakes; the two year old’s performance that day served as the rightful closure to a magnificent horse racing meet that autumn. Not to forget the talented Javier Castellano who led Violence to a victory by one complete length over a distance of 1 1/6 miles in just 1:43.50!

Gallop down with elegance

Assiniboia Downs is a horse-racing track in Canada located on the western edge of the city Winnipeg, Mannitoba. Mannitoba Jockey Club operates Assiniboia Downs whose main track is a six and one half furlong (1430 yards) oval. Elegant ambience, sumptuous buffet and dining and ludicrously appealing lineups are some of the beckoning highlights of this place.

It is a paradise for the lovers of the sport indeed. Here you may witness famous league matches, cups and tournaments which are held on a regular basis. Downs Foyer, Hold races, HOTY title matches and the Quickie Stanley Cup are some of the popular delights to mention a few. Horses and in vogue jockeys are recruited from different clubs and near and far cities which becomes an added delight for the spectators. Some of the best names in the sport consider it honorable and competitive to participate at an Assiniboia Downs event. 

Assiniboia Downs is a fancy and lavish way to enjoy the sport meanwhile feasting on a wide variety of cuisines such as Asian, European, Fusion, Latin American, Continental and much more. Themes, dress codes, music and light shows, dances and so on are organized on special occasions and weekends for an added club-like feel for the crowd. Whilst relishing fine buffet food on the terrace dining setup, you are most likely to encounter famous faces in the horse-racing sport with many VIP spectators enjoying and playing bets with you for a fun-filled, delightful experience. Assiniboia Downs also hosts charitable functions, buy-in poker games and special awareness campaigns as a collateral socially responsible organization.

A membership is easy to procure with multiple additional benefits. Besides all the updates on the events and schedule for each day, free lunch/dinner for you and one companion, a discounted buffet, free bets on selected horses, free or reasonably discounted tickets, your picture with the winning horse, a chance to get honored in the numerous local newspapers that cover the event and much more.

Followers of the sport from all around the world can remain associated with the events, tournaments, highs and lows and discussions by remaining in touch with the fellow members or registering for membership and bets electronically. Regular updates of the races accord for a similar thrill and incitement of enjoying a match. Although live, in-house experience of Assiniboia Downs is exceptional beyond compare.  A lover of the sport will be able to attest the journey of his favorites. Hiatus of famous horses from league matches or introduction of eminent jockeys from around the country outline the attractions for a particular week or event.

For a horse-racing enthusiast, Assiniboia Downs will be an experience like a dream served on a plate; an experience like none other. The crowd is always sensational; the ensuing events can be well validated by blitz before time sales of the tickets. The tickets are available for purchase in the general office or VLT cashier.  Breath-stunning matches are a treat for the heart mind and soul; Assiniboia downs promises a memorable horse-racing action with exciting addendums as a side dish. You will have to be there to seize the euphoria.

Does handicapping give equal chance of winning?

Handicapping in its most literal sense is artificial advantage given to some contestants or some are disadvantaged for equal chances of winning by all in a race or contest. In horse racing, handicap refers to a race in which the contenders have different level of ability.  An advantage or disadvantage can be in the form of points, strokes, weight to be carried or distance from the target or goal.

The term Handicap is said to have come from a popular seventeenth century lottery cap “Handi-cap” in which players placed their bets in a cap. Handicapping is used in many sporting events like chess, golf, croquet, bowling etc. and horse racing of course in which it encourages wagering.  Horse racing handicapping is also used to predict the outcome of an event for purpose of betting in the point spread system of wagering. Just to know point spread quickly, it is a wagering system in a spectrum and bets are placed for the outcome to be above or below the spectrum.

While there are no set rules for horse racing handicapping, there is a good chance of the pick going wrong but certain horse racing handicapping tips if kept in mind can help choose the right pick.  The first tip for Handicapping can be picking the horse based on the tier it is placed in. For the novice or someone new to handicapping, horses are placed in color coded tiers and the tier color is displayed as the background color of each horse’s program. The tier color range from dark green to yellow with one exception which is grey tier relating to the horse not being rated. The horses in one tier are ranked from best to worst and are close in ability to be chosen one from another. A good tip for handicapping for a single bet race, such as Exacta, Trifecta is to key boxes for dark green tier horses. For multiple bet races, it is advisable to key boxes in the top tier and sometimes from the second tier or grey tier also.

Some common sense and prudence is also needed in handicapping, which involves being selective and not choosing all races to bet. A good practice is to select races which have smaller top tier and try to skip races which have one or more grey tier horses. The age old saying,” it takes money to win money applies to handicapping in horse racing as well. The simple bets Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta and some more are simple to bet and do not need a large money outlay, but the exotic Pick 4s, Pick 6s need significant  money outlay for actually chance of getting the bet.

Another good indicator is to check the horse’s ability past performance and current form to select Handicapping. While choosing between two horses with similar workouts, the one with best current form has more chances of prevailing. To analyze workout, the horse indicated in red has quality workout while a “Monster icon” workout for a horse has to be watched out! Another important factor to be considered while handicapping is the track surface the horses are predisposed to. Horses either perform well on turf or dirt rarely do horses perform well on both. Breeding of the horse plays a role here, as there are physical aspects of the horse which determine the track surface for the horse.

The track condition is as significant in handicapping as much the dirt vs turf issue which is many times not given due consideration. It is quite biased in the sense some horse prefer wet tracks while some prefer dry tracks. This happens with dirt and turf, mostly observed with European courses which are softer than their American counterpart. A simple way is to see if a horse likes an off track is to check his past record on wet track. It is important to change selections on the day of racing in the likelihood of change in track conditions.  To understand this kind of situation better, all races on a particular racing day can move from turf to dirt except one major stakes which remain on grass. To make selection for handicapping, a good practice is to select turf condition go to all races as turf and then override the surface to dirt which came off.

The tips can be more and many but none guarantee a pick to be 100% percent right. Before trying out handicapping at the real races, give it a try at http://www.horseracegame.com/betting.php.

What should be your Horse’s Name?

Horseback riding is a sport that very few people decide to venture into very seriously. It requires a lot of training and is quite a dangerous sport. What makes it even more strenuous is the fact that the sport is made for two - the rider and the horse. A horse, in this sport, is not merely an animal to groom and feed and cuddle. An unhappy horse makes for an unhealthy horse which leads to losing races. Trainers and their teams need to be extremely well acquainted with the maintenance of such a beautiful creature. The riders must be comfortable with the horse. It is a team sport and it requires the well-being of the horse for it to cooperate.

A lot of trainers get attached to their horses. They treat their horses like their children and often pay more attention to them than their own families! The horses mean more to them than just another mouth to feed; they provide the food that they eat. They call their horses lovingly using clicking sounds with their throats and nicknames. But what a horse is called has more weight than one can imagine. A horse’s name, quite like a celebrity’s stage name, becomes something of an image and what you call them greatly reflects their ability on the track.

In 2011, the most common names for horses were shown to be Buddy, Jack and Max. However, from racing history, it is quite clear that neither Buddy nor Jack win the race but horses like Kincsem and Black Caviar, who currently hold the world’s highest record for thoroughbreds. Race horses are most known by names after fast moving objects (like Lightening or Thunder) or those that represent wealth (like Regulus or Goldfinder).

Asteroid is one of the most common race horse names. Asteroids are known as minor planets and usually just float around space harmlessly. But when they reach the earth atmosphere burn up and fly across the sky, with a trail of fire behind them. This is the perfect analogy for a fast horse; the image of it leaving a blaze of fire behind it. Asteroid happens to be the name of one of the greatest horses from the United States. Dying in 1886, he held 12 wins in total.

Highflyer was another horse with undefeatable record, from Great Britain, in the 18th century. Highflyer is a word that, in common tongue, means a person that has the ability to become successful. Highflyer is an apt name for him because he started aging at a very young age, younger than the usual age of five. He showed promise even before his racing career started as his entire muscular structure was such that it was fairly obvious from the start that he was meant for the races. He held 14 wins to his name.

Man ‘o War is one of the greatest names in the history of horse racing. He holds the number one place in Blood Horse magazine’s list of 100 U.S. Racehorses. The phrase “man o’ war” literally is a powerful name tracing back to the 16th century war ships. These ships were loaded with cannon. It brings out an image of power and destruction, one that is perfect for this horse as he is still considered one of the fastest horses in history. He won 20 out of 21 races that he had run.

The rules for naming a horse are listed in the Jockey Club page. Two rules are interesting to note. One, a horse, once named and registered, cannot change their names. Two, after a horse makes a record, that name cannot be used by any other members. This implies that all of the greatest horses have unique names; ones that they have had forever and have lived up to. This also means that the naming of a horse is a crucial part as it cannot be one already used and it has to be built such that it builds an image to it.

The fitting finale of the Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire is an embodiment of everything which is great about this event. The Cheltenham Festival is four days of atmosphere, anticipation, and action played out in the National Hunt Racing Calendar on a sporting arena which is one of its kinds. The Festival second only to the Grand National in race prize money is attended by many of the British and Irish trained horses which are rare to see in rest of the racing season.

The Festival a fixture for March which coincides with St. Patrick’s Day is noted for gambling of large sums of money and the atmosphere most notably the “Cheltenham roar” which refers to the noise which the crowd generates at the mark of the start of the first race in the festival. The festival a true racing extravaganza features the best and bravest horses and jockeys, trainers who are excited and who are queasy, people who come together every year to have the time of their lives. The Festival glory creates life-long memories and defines career for racing practitioners and for others who come into contact with it gives unparalleled joy of award-winning drama, sporting excellence and much more.

The Cheltenham Festival starts off with the Champion Day which features the Stan James Champion Hurdle which is the most important hurdle of the season. Six other cracking races and the electrifying first day atmosphere make it a sporting highlight of the season. The second day at the Festival is another highlight with a seven race card featuring the Queen Mother Champion Chase. The third day of the Festival coincides with St Patrick’s day which has been hosting St Patrick’s Derby in association with Cancer Research UK charity racing along with other races on card.

The last and final day of the Festival is the Cheltenham Gold Cup Day which is also the centerpiece race of the day was first staged in 1924. In the next five decades races were added the last being Stayers Hurdle which was first run in 1972. Until the mid 2000’s the festival was a three day affair to which a fourth day was added for each day to have a championship race climaxing with the Gold Cup. The Festival also includes one of the two biggest Hunter Chases of the Season, the Foxhunters’ which is run on the same course on the same day as     the Gold Cup and sometimes referred as the “amateurs’ Gold Cup”.

The fitting finale of the Cheltenham Festival, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt race having a racing distance of 3 miles 2 ½ furlongs and 22 fences to be jumped in the race. The steeplechase is open to horses aged five and above and one of the most notable National Hunt event. The Gold Cup is the most valuable non-handicap chase in Britain and since 2012 it is sponsored by Betfred with prize money of 491,850GBP. The prize money at Cheltenham Festival 2014 can make some interesting horse racing news! Why anticipate for the next year, have a preview of Cheltenham 2014 at http://www.horseracegame.com/famous_horse_race.php

Looking back at the early years of the Gold Cup, the race was first run as a flat race in July 1819. The Cheltenham Gold Cup was first run as jump race in 1924 on what is at present called “old course” in Cheltenham. In the following years, the event was cancelled, changed venues till it opened finally opened in 1959 on “New Course” which is the site of the event till date. Some interesting instances can be cited in the running of the Gold Cup, one of which is Arkle the shortest price-winner in races’ history which remains till date.

The most remarkable feat in the history of the Gold Cup by a trainer came in 1983 when Michael Dickinson’s horses were the first five to finish the race. The 1986 winner of the race Dawn Run is the only horse to have won this race and another leading hurdle event, the Champion Hurdle. The entire Cheltenham Festival was cancelled due to outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. A replacement event the Gold Trophy Chase was contested instead which lacked any strength in depth and was no substitute for the racing post – as quoted by Racing Post.